Ten Times Brennan Felt Something for Booth
by missfand0m
Summary: "She couldn't explain this feeling, this want. It was foreign to her, yet she didn't want it to go. Which made absolutely no sense at all because why would she want to feel more pain?" A collage of what Brennan was thinking during some of my favorite B&B moments from seasons 1-5. T for a little cursing, but it's really not that bad. I'm just paranoid.
1. Knight

**WARNING: Brennan might seem a little OOC at times. This is due to the fact that I can't talk/write exactly like she does. I tried, but I can only do so much. Also, this is supposed to be Brennan's inner thoughts on certain situations, so it will _not_ be her normal, indifferent attitude. She has complicated, emotional thoughts like a normal human being, but because she isn't normal she doesn't show them. So apologies in advance for any OOCness.**

"Booth is a big, strong, hot guy who wants to save your life. I mean, you actually have a knight in shining, FBI standard-issue body armor."

.§. .§.

A shot was fired.

Kenton fell to the ground.

The dogs started barking more rapidly, but she couldn't hear them.

Brennan whipped around to see who had shot the rogue FBI agent, though she already knew who it was.

Booth.

With a gun in his hand in all his wonderful, knight-like glory.

Even with his injures, he ran over to her and lifted her off the hook and they sank to their knees.

She felt safe here in his arms. They enveloped and protected her. They had saved her and would probably save her again.

She could feel his sling digging into her collarbone and his heart beating rapidly as he whispered comforting things into her ear.

"How did you get out of the hospital?" Brennan pulled back for a moment, just to get a look at his face. She saw so much worry and pain and relief and other emotions it made her want to cry.

"Hodgins gave me a ride. Maybe….maybe you could give me a ride back though, huh?" As she looked into his eyes, she had a strange desire to kiss him, which was completely irrational for so many reasons.

So she didn't.

Instead she smiled and hugged him again, silently thanking him for everything.


	2. Dirt

She and Hodgins locked eyes and he lit the fuse.

The explosion went off, almost deafening them. Brennan launched herself blindly towards the window and soil and tried to claw her way to the surface.

She crawled and kicked and pushed and everything she physically could to get the hell out of there because she was pretty damn sure she never wanted to be underground again. Ever.

A hand grabbed hers and started yanking on her arm, which hurt, but she was so happy she didn't care.

The person pulled and pulled and finally her head came out into the blinding sun. She squeezed her eyes shut until she could take time to adjust to the light and reached for her rescuer. Her arms wrapped around broad, muscular shoulders and strong, firm hands grabbed her around the waist. They pulled her out of the dirt and she couldn't help but think, _Hodgins hates the term 'dirt.'_

She laid on the ground for a second, breathing in the sweet, fresh air, before saying, "Get Hodgins."

She sat up and opened her eyes. Booth was moving away from her and towards where she had just been rescued from. Others were already there pulling out Hodgins. Booth helped yank him out the rest of the way and then he sat back down next to her.

They sat in silence for a minute, neither really knowing what to say after what had just happened.

"Thank you," Brennan said softly. "For not giving up."

Booth looked at her and smiled a smile that instantly made her feel better. "Anytime, Bones."


	3. Puzzle

There was an explosion.

Then the world was spinning and there was lots of things shattering and there was fire and everything went black.

.§. .§.

Her ears were ringing and her head hurt and she wasn't sure what injures she had sustained. She did know that Booth was getting out of the car and telling her to not to move, which she was okay with for the time being.

He came around to her side of the car and put his torso through her window. "Okay," he said, adjusting his grip on her. "Put your arm underneath my shoulder. Come on, you ready?"

She groaned an affirmative, not really able to do much else while her face was buried in his shoulder.

"On three." Booth solidified his stance and counted down. "One, two, three. Move!"

He grunted as he pulled her out of the taxi while she kept saying, "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm okay, I'm okay."

Booth dragged her over to the sidewalk and set her down saying, "Here. Get over here." He flopped down next to her and continued, "The paramedics are on their way."

Brennan was annoyed that this whole mess had happened in the first place. She lashed out at Booth, who was being obnoxiously calm. "He knew who we were because I was sitting up front."

Booth rolled his eyes. "No, it was because of your bad acting, that's what it was."

Her anger flared. "What? Back at the vau-? I was good!"

"No, you were loud." He looked at her pointedly. "That's what they call overacting."

She was going to win this argument whether he liked it or not. "Well, you shouldn't have shushed me! That's how he knew!"

Booth ignored her and started questioning a nearby agent about the truck and the motorcyclist.

Brennan sat there silently fuming until she realized, she shouldn't be mad at Booth. He wasn't able to control that situation more then her and Gormogon had probably known about the truck already. He was always one step ahead of them somehow. Even so, she would catch him eventually. All the pieces of the puzzle would come together perfectly like one of her skull reconstructions or like the silver skeleton Gormogon was so desperate to make.

She stared at Booth's form, wondering how he worked because he was a very intricate, complicated puzzle that defied all her logic. He was definitely her most interesting puzzle, but she wasn't sure she would ever be able to put all pieces together correctly.


	4. Steamboats

_One steamboat, two steamboats, three steamboats, four..._

She lost count.

She couldn't really think right now.

Booth's lips were against hers and they were so soft and they fit right with hers and Booth was a superb kisser and, _oh God_ , was he deepening the kiss? Wait, maybe it was her. She wasn't really sure what was what anymore.

Brennan had never experienced a kiss like this before. She had experienced lust filled kisses, chaste kisses, rough kisses, quick pecks on the lips or cheek, even sad and remorseful kisses.

But _never_ had she experienced one like this kiss.

This kiss was slow and intoxicating and sweet and perfect and felt oh, so right.

If you had asked her to explain why the kiss felt like that, she wouldn't have been able to tell you. She would have said that the sweetness probably came from her gum, but all the other things defied logic. She and Booth were just partners, there was no romantic feelings between them at all. Their relationship was strictly professional and the only reason she was kissing him was because Caroline had forced her to.

 _Caroline_.

Damn it, Brennan had forgotten all about her.

Brennan pulled away from Booth and tried not to look him in the eye. Instead she turned to Caroline and said, "Was that enough steamboats?" because she had lost track a very, very long time ago.

.§. .§.

"Go to the window and open up the blinds. Now."

"What?"

Brennan turned and walked to the window. Booth and Parker were standing with a decorated and lit Christmas tree, smiling and waving at her.

She had a sharp pain in her chest all of a sudden that hurt really, _really_ bad. A desire to be out there in the cold and snow with Booth and Parker came over her. She couldn't explain this feeling, this want. It was foreign to her, yet she didn't want it to go. Which made absolutely no sense at all because why would she want to feel more pain?

She lifted her hand and waved back, hoping to rid herself of the pain with a distraction. "Hey, everybody! It looks like we got our tree after all."

Her family crowded around her, all trying to see the tree. They were talking and commenting on the tree, but Brennan couldn't hear them because her chest was still hurting and she couldn't concentrate on anything else right now.

She wondered what this pain was and why she was feeling it. Not coming up with any good answers immediately, she decided to ponder that later and to relish this moment with her family and Booth instead.

"I love my gift, Booth." She smiled and hoped he'd be able to see it.

He did and he smiled in return.

"Merry Christmas, Bones."


	5. Evidence

He was right there in front of her punching some guy, not in the coffin like he was supposed to be. There was a dummy in the coffin.

Her head felt like it was spinning.

Wait, no, he had _died_ , for God's sake. She knew for a fact that he had died. She had been there when he was shot and he had later been declared dead by medical professionals. All the evidence pointed to the fact that he was dead.

And now there was an anomaly in the evidence.

She _hated_ anomalies, though it was was kind of her job to figure them out.

Why, oh, why couldn't Booth just be dead? She was already over the fact that he was dead. If he was alive it would just bring more emotions to the surface and she wasn't ready to handle that. Why did he have to be so _infuriating_ by being alive and following his gut and jumping to conclusions and using psychology and not dying and _why did he make things so hard for her?_

Even more of a pressing question was, why was she secretly glad that he was alive?

He was just her partner, she could have easily gotten a new one. Another one that was just a capable as Booth was.

 _But it wouldn't have been_ Booth _,_ said a voice in the back of her mind.

Out of anger and out of Booth's obvious need for help, she yanked the arm off the dummy and swung at whoever needed to be punched, effectively knocking the guy out.

"Bones! Nice shot," Booth said, standing up.

Bones.

No one had called her that in so long.

Her heart started to physically hurt and she wondered if she might be suffering from some heart condition.

"What?" he asked, apparently picking up on her hostile feelings.

She had nothing to say to him.

She was too angry for words. Plus she was worried that if she spoke right now her heart would jump out of her throat.

So, she did the next logical thing.

She punched him.

He groaned and it felt _so_ good.

Maybe, just this once, she was glad that the evidence was wrong.


	6. Hurry

They were so, _so_ close.

The ship was on the horizon, about to explode.

Her heart was beating so violently it felt like it was going to explode as well.

 _We'll find him, we have to,_ she kept repeating to herself.

They had to.

He had already died on her once; she wasn't about to let him die on her again.

As the helicopter started circling the boat trying to find Booth, she felt her heart sink to the floor a little. If they didn't find him within the next few minutes, he was a goner.

If only they had a little more time, if only she had one extra minute.

But she didn't.

She searched and scanned and searched and scanned and started losing hope and-

Something moved.

"Head over towards that part of the deck!" she called at the pilot while pointing to where she wanted to go.

He nodded in reply and moved the joystick between his hands.

Then she saw movement again.

"I see him!" Brennan yelled at the top of her lungs. He was alive and she wanted to whole world to know. "He's right there! You have to land!"

The pilot started to maneuver the copter into position to land and she started yelling at Booth even though he couldn't hear her yet.

The other guy in the helicopter opened the door and she started screaming even louder at him.

"Booth! Hurry, come on!"

She motioned with her hands too, hoping that even if he was disoriented and couldn't hear her, he would understand her movements.

He started to walk towards the copter, but he stopped and turned around.

"Hurry, Booth! Come on!"

Again, he started to come to her but stopped short.

Why, oh, why wasn't he listening? Why couldn't he just come already so she knew he was okay? Why wasn't he hurrying?

"Booth, come on! Hurry!"

This time she finally seemed to get through to him and he started to run to her and her heart started to hurt.

He climbed into the copter, disheveled and sweaty and dirty and gross, but she hugged him anyway. She buried her head in his shoulder and felt his arms wrap around her and she wanted to cry because she had been _so damn worried._

She heard an explosion behind them and was so glad she had Booth here in her arms.


	7. Exceptional

The shattered glass made little tinkling sounds against the concrete floor, almost sounding pretty. People rushed around trying to secure the lab. But Brennan didn't hear or see any of this.

All she could hear was the rapid beating of her heart and her and Booth's heavy breathing. All she could see was Booth's slightly parted lips that were mere inches from her own and his eyes that were boring into hers.

It felt like time had stopped for a moment, just so she could commit this to memory.

Then it all came whooshing back and cold, hard reality was against her back. Figuratively and literally, in the form of a wall.

Booth pulled back and yelled, "What the hell was that?"

Hodgins and Mr. Nigel-Murray appeared from the smoke coughing and looking ashamed.

"We're okay. Everything's fine!" Hodgins called, still coughing.

Cam appeared, walking towards the two troublemakers and Brennan shook her head, trying to get the last of that bizarre fog out of her head.

"We should get out of here before they lockdown the lab. Let Cam deal with them," she said, trying to act normal.

"Yeah," Booth answered. He grabbed her hand and made a run for the door.

She couldn't help thinking that his hand fit exceptionally well in hers.


	8. Duty

Brennan wasn't worried. Nope, not at all. This was one of the best doctors in the country, if not the world. Booth would be fine. He was always fine. And she would personally take it upon herself to finish the surgery if this doctor turned out to be a complete idiot. Which he wasn't, because he was the best in the country, the world even.

Oh God, were those tears that she felt prickling at the back of her eyes? No, Temperance Brennan did _not_ cry without good reason and she didn't have a good reason to cry because Booth was going to be just fine.

He had to be fine.

.§. .§.

Brennan sat on the chair in the hospital room with her computer in her lap. She wasn't doing anything on it. It was just comforting to have it by her side, no matter how irrational that was.

She sat there staring at Booth and his bandaged head, hoping and waiting for him to wake up. At one point she _almost_ wanted to pray to the entity that Booth prayed to, but she quickly decided that was silly and a waste of her time since God didn't exist.

But no one had to know if she did pray while waiting. And even if they did find out and asked her about it, her answer would have been that she had to take all possible precautions to make sure Booth got better or else she would be failing at her duty as a scientist and as Booth's best friend.


	9. Stupid

"Couldn't you be his girlfriend?"

"Buddy, you really gotta quit that."

"That would be inappropriate."

"Why?"

"Because...we work together."

"That's a stupid reason."

A small part of her brain agreed that yes, it was stupid that she couldn't date Booth just because they were partners.

She was surprised by that part of her brain, but then she pondered the thought. They couldn't date because of obvious reasons, but _would_ she date Booth if that had nothing to do with it?

Brennan wondered if she would, because she really had no idea. Sure, she thought he was physically attractive, but wouldn't it be weird dating him? He was like a brother or a really close friend, maybe even a best friend. Would it be weird to date your brother or best friend?

Well yes, it would definitely be weird to date Russ. And it would probably be weird to date Angela, but Booth wasn't Russ or Angela. He was just...Booth. He was a category all of his own.

A category she couldn't sort because he only fit partially into categories, never perfectly.

And that bugged the hell out of her.

Because she couldn't put her finger on what made him different, what made him tick, what made him good at dealing with people, what made him so perfect.

And it especially bugged her that she couldn't figure out what made him so special to her.

So yes, it was stupid that she couldn't date Booth just because of their professions.

But it was also stupid that she couldn't figure him out.


	10. Together

She hadn't ever been much of a romantic. Hell, she couldn't even write a convincing sex scene for her books. But something in the back of her mind said that standing in the middle of a room filled with mummies and Egyptian artifacts didn't exactly scream romance.

Brennan wasn't sure why she was having these thoughts right now, since the situation she was in wasn't even remotely romantic. She and Booth were just discussing the case. That's it. And even she knew that murder wasn't romantic.

So why was she thinking about romance?

Was it the fact that she hadn't had sex in a while and Booth was very pleasing to the eyes with his symmetrical proportions, widened shoulder structure, and strong jaw line? No, she would be feeling lustful if that was the case. She wouldn't be feeling like some school girl with a crush.

Brennan wasn't sure why she felt like this, but she didn't think she liked it. It was a very unpleasant feeling not knowing what to do and how to act.

In order to distract herself from these confusing thoughts, she said, "I have to speak. I hate these things."

Booth gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about, Bones? You're great at these things." He took a step closer, making her stomach feel funny. "Listen, you changed history. How many people can say that?"

She took a step closer to him as well. "You can. Every arrest you make changes history. You make the world safer."

"With your help." He paused and took yet another step. "So, Andrew... I thought you were going to take him to this thing. That's what he told me."

"I was, yes, but... You and I, this was our case and I guess...what goes on between us, that should just be ours." She smiled at him, deciding that the weird feeling in her stomach felt like rhopalocera flying around inside it, even though that was completely impossible. "Isn't that what you said?"

"Yeah," Booth replied, smirking at her.

By now they were standing toe-to-toe and the moment felt very intimate. Brennan was mentally creating scenarios of what could happen next when she heard footsteps and laughter in the distances.

"Come on, you two. The Ambassador is about to speak," Angela called at them.

Brennan glanced at the stairs as the footsteps retreated and she and Booth were left alone again. She made eye contact with him and she felt something very strange in her chest. And the longer she looked in his eyes, the more intense the feeling got.

In an attempt to escape the feeling, she glanced down to his tie and hoping to escape his gaze, she reached for it and pretended to fix it.

Then he was brushing her hair behind her ear and she could have sworn her heart stopped. Obviously it didn't because she was still alive, but that was the only way she could explain this experience.

"Thanks," Booth said.

She smiled at him, not trusting her voice.

He smiled back and they walked out of the room to the party, together like always.


End file.
